I'm afraid even a blow by blow account of a trip to Rothesy and back couldn't be made to sound like an adventure. The 200yds from the boat club out to the mooring in my nine foot hard dinghy is the exciting bit.
In the event of getting it into the water without major mishap then the next seemingly innocuous hazard to negotiate is the bathing platform. As it thrashes up and down in the swell it's close to impossible to get a hold of and if your hand happens to be between it and the gunwale of the dinghy when it comes down..............not nice! It also is just the right height as it bottoms out to push the gunwale under and launch you face first into the transom of the boat, but after all, that's where you were going anyway. At this point you first notice some of the delights of the wild life....the canopy that used to be blue is now white and littered with countless unusual dead things (unfortunately not the damned seagulls themselves). Now for the pre-flight checks. Batteries on (they will be because I always forget to switch them off anyway) Fuel on (same story as the batteries) Oil check (It's not in the bilges...or some of it isn't so there must be some in the engine) Water strainer check (strategically placed right over the alternator so as to ensure the salt water has somewhere productive to land when you open it......best left till next time). Check the auxiliary engine will start. It will but this is futile...it always starts when you don't really need it. and by the way after all the talk of steering with the main engine etc. I suggest you try it!!) Blower on for a couple of minutes, pump the throttle a couple of times and turn the key. This is the good bit. It starts. It always starts, first time, every time. However we are now confronted with a dilemma. Making your way forward around the outside is really a non-starter in this weather and of course the keys for the, still locked, cabin.......yep! on the key ring in the ignition. This sorted, engine running again and up front ready to cast off.
.....Have you spotted the deliberate mistake? What do you think will happen as the dinghy tied to the bathing platform hits 20Kn. No I didn't, honest. It was left tied to the mooring.
After all this the actual trip to Rothesay is uneventful very easy navigation, 7.5Knm, easy harbour entry any state of tide with good floating pontoons and services. Four pounds for a four hour stop or ten pounds per night. Have a look www.clydesite.co.uk/clyde/ports/index.asp?fd=Rothesay
The run back is equally uneventful apart from dropping into a couple of holes and getting the kind of salt sea dowsing that you would have to pay for at a spa. Regarding mooring up when we get back I always have the unfortunate convenience of 700 berth marina a few hundred yards from my bobbing and gyrating mooring with the dinghy and it's associated delights. So a walk back to the boat club is the order of the day and Patrana? Well it's an excuse to go and play with her again tomorrow.
It's easy to pick fault with places and I'm sure Rothesay has it's share but it has a lot to offer and during the summer it is close enough that (with a bit of organisation) you can make the trip there and back in an evening.